Murray wants more from Loktionov

Andrei Loktionov got called up from the AHL after injuries to Dustin Penner and Scott Parse. Shortly thereafter, he got moved to his natural position of center, where Loktionov is presumed to be more comfortable and productive. Still, the points have not followed. Nine games into his latest stint with the Kings, Loktionov has zero goals and two assists. The Kings like the potential of Loktionov, who doesn’t turn 22 until May, and he’s likely to stay in the lineup at least until Mike Richards returns from injury, but Terry Murray would like to see some production from the young center, who is expected to play on the third line tonight with wingers Dustin Penner and Ethan Moreau.

MURRAY: “I need more. I need more from him. He’s getting a pretty good opportunity here to show us what he can do as a player in the center of the ice, playing consistently in an important role. I’d like to see that creativity, that offensive look that I had a good sense for when he was here last year. I felt good about his play with the puck and what he was doing to make plays, just holding onto it and making good decisions in the offensive zone. It’s not quite there yet, with his overall play, but his work is good. I just want to see him hold onto the puck and make some more plays in the offensive zone.’’